This judge seems to think she runs the Executive Branch, and has gotten a little too big for her britches
The sign outside the door said Courtroom 1403. But inside, it felt a lot more like the principal’s office.
“I’m not happy,” US District Judge Sara Ellis said Thursday in a stern tone no student – or attorney – wants to hear. “I’m really not happy.”
One week after the judge issued a sweeping order trying to calm the intense response of federal agents to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and US Border Patrol activities in Chicago, Ellis told both sides to come back to her courtroom to have their own intense discussion.
“I live in Chicago, if folks haven’t noticed, and I’m not blind, right?” Ellis opened the hearing. “So, I don’t live in a cave. I have a phone. I have a TV. I have a computer and I tend to get news.”
The judge said those news reports were leading her to believe the Trump administration may not be following her instructions.
“At least from what I’m seeing, I’m having serious concerns that my order’s being followed,” said Ellis from the bench.
For clarity, from that “sweeping order” link
The judge’s order, which applies to the entire Northern District of Illinois, blocks federal agents from firing various types of less-lethal projectiles and chemical irritants and from “using force, such as pulling or shoving a person to the ground, tackling, or body slamming an individual.”
Hey, what the hell are we supposed to use man? Harsh language? Did the judge happen to watch TV and see the violence coming from the “protesters”?
In response, Ellis announced Thursday she will expand her restraining order, requiring all federal agents who are part of Operation Midway Blitz and who have body cameras to have them on during encounters with protesters.
Um, how many actually have body cams?
“That’s the nice thing about body cameras is that they pick up events before the triggering event happens,” she said.
The judge initially required all agents to wear cameras, but agreed to some flexibility after Sean Skedzielewski, an attorney representing the Trump administration, said it would be logistically impossible to immediately equip all agents with bodycams.
Actually, this is a fantastic idea, as the cams will catch the faces and actions of the violent liberal protesters, allowing for federal law enforcement to follow up and arrest them later. I wonder if the leftist judge really thought this one through?
Translation: a federal judge who is responsible for upholding the law doesn’t want the federal government to enforce the law.